Boston Public Radio

The former Department of Homeland Security official also said she's hoping to see Republicans embrace Biden's calls for unity.

The variant — B.1.1.7 — has reached the state this week, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

While coronavirus cases are up everywhere, mayoral candidate and city councilor Andrea Campbell says some predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods in Boston have borne the brunt of infections.

Paris Jeffries spoke optimistically about the range of citywide efforts to confront Boston's deep racial inequties.

The Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price reflect on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "The Other America" speech.

A compilation of testimony from members of Congress on "Boston Public Radio," of the Jan. 6 storming of the capitol and the ensuing impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Today on Boston Public Radio: First, we talk with listeners about their reactions to yesterday’s mayoral primary, which saw Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George take the lead for the runoff. Joseph Allen critiques what he sees as a failure to define the country’s goals for COVID-19 reduction as a major obstacle facing the country. He also discusses how to prevent the spread of the virus indoors in buildings with poor filtration. Allen is the director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Juliette Kayyem talks about George W. Bush’s comparison between extremists in the United States and the 9/11 terrorists, and worries about an upcoming far-right rally protesting the prosecution of people charged after the Jan. 6 riot. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson update listeners on all things transportation. They weigh in on mayoral primary winners Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George’s platforms on transportation, and what role the mayor’s office should have in governing the city’s transport. Aloisi is the former Massachusetts transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters board and a contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Thompson is executive director of Livable Streets. Bina Venkataraman talks about her reactions to the mayoral primary and why The Boston Globe endorsed Andrea Campbell for mayor. She also discusses the possibilities presented by safe injection sites and other ideas for improving the city. Venkataraman is the editorial page editor at The Boston Globe. Her latest book is “The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age.” Art Caplan weighs in on efforts to game the system to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, and urges people to start getting their annual flu shot now. He also discusses the ethics of talks of attempts to bring back the now-extinct woolly mammoth. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. We end the show by asking listeners their thoughts on a $370,000 parking spot listed in Boston’s South End.

On today’s Boston Public Radio, we bring listeners a day full of mayoral coverage: Adam Reilly kicks off election day by weighing in on why voter turnout tends to be low and which candidates he thinks has an advantage. He also talks about how sometimes having too many good candidates can depress voter turnout. Reilly is co-host of GBH’s Politics podcast, “The Scrum.” Then, we hear from all the major candidates in the mayoral primary. Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George discusses her years as an educator and small business owner as qualifications for the city’s top job. City Councilor Essaibi George is running for mayor of Boston. Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell highlights her focus on affordable housing, public school policies and the opioid crisis as key parts of her background in running for mayor. Campbell is a Boston City Council member representing District 4, including parts of Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain and Roslindale. She is running for mayor of Boston. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu points to her stake in the city, with her children in public schools and mother receiving mental health care, as well as her years of experience in City Hall, as her strengths as potential mayor. Wu is a Boston City Councilor At-Large running for mayor of Boston. John Barros talks about his passion for environmental justice and neighborhood improvement work in Boston as reasons why voters should elect him. Barros most recently served as Boston’s chief of economic development in the Walsh administration, and is running for mayor of Boston. Acting Mayor Kim Janey emphasizes her experience growing up in Boston, her non-profit work with children and families and service as acting mayor as qualifications for the job. Janey is the Acting Mayor of Boston, and is running for mayor of Boston. Throughout the show, we also take listener calls about who they’re voting for and why. John King ends the show by putting the Boston mayoral race in a national context. He talks about voter turnout patterns across the country, California’s recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom and worries about Republican claims of rigged elections following the 2020 presidential election. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m.

Today on Boston Public Radio: EJ Dionne discusses the voting rights measure and infrastructure spending package as the Senate returns from their August recess this week. He also weighs in on whether or not Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer should retire. Dionne is a columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. His latest book is "Code Red: How Progressives And Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country.” Then, we talk with listeners about their opinions on masking indoors as the Delta variant continues to spread. Yawu Miller gives listeners a primer on tomorrow’s Boston Mayoral primary, a historic race for its racial diversity and female-majority among major candidates. He also discusses current polling data and voter patterns along demographic lines. Miller is a Senior Editor of The Bay State Banner. Bruce Marks talks about what the Supreme Court’s end to the eviction moratorium means for Massachusetts, and what his organization, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) is doing to help. Marks is the CEO and founder of NACA, the nation’s largest Housing and Urban Development-certified nonprofit. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III speak out against the Islamophobia in the United States that has persisted following 9/11. In the days before Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, they also argue about what forgiveness means. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, and a visiting researcher in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program at the Boston University School of Theology. Price is the founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston. Together, they host GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast. Richard Blanco gives a poet’s take on poetry, reading famous quotes and weighing in on the purpose and impact of the art form. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, we end the show by asking listeners what atonement and forgiveness should look like in a deeply divided country.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Charlie Sennott tells the story of the Goodrich family, who lost their son in the 9/11 and went on to build a girls school in Afghanistan, which has since been taken over by the Taliban. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Art Caplan weighs in on President Joe Biden’s latest plan to fight COVID-19, which involves a federal rule requiring vaccines or weekly testing for all businesses with 100 or more employees. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Then, we talk with listeners about their impressions of Biden’s new vaccine mandate. Andrea Cabral talks about a lawsuit filed Thursday by the Justice Department against the state of Texas, aiming to invalidate the new abortion restrictions. She also weighs in on Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s insistence that he will not retire. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and the former Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She is currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Juliette Kayyem discusses the impact of COVID-19 and climate change-induced natural disasters on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Sue O’Connell weighs in on this week’s Boston Mayoral debates and their potential effect on the race. She also talks about the recent loss of Michael K. Williams, who played Omar on “The Wire.” O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Andy Ihnatko talks about new developments in surveillance technology, including front door cameras and Ray Bans that record video straight to Facebook. He also discusses decisions by GoDaddy.com and Reddit to shut down threads aiming to bring lawsuits against people getting abortions in the wake of the recent Texas law. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Then, we talk with listeners about their thoughts on the Ray Bans sunglasses with recording capacity.

Today on Boston Public Radio: First, we talk with listeners about the school bus driver shortage on back to school day. Denise Dilanni previews the new series from GBH, “The Future of Work,” about the current transformation of the American workforce brought by automation, the gig economy and COVID-19. The show airs on GBH2 on Sept. 15, the PBS Video app and the PBS Voices YouTube Channel. Dilanni is an executive producer at GBH and the series’ creator. Ambassador Philippe Etienne talks about the effect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Europe, and the impact of our nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan on European peace efforts in the mid-east country. He also talks about America’s relationship with France under President Joe Biden, and the success of his country’s vaccine “health pass” system. Etienne is the French ambassador to the United States. Paul Reville discusses the return of Mass. students to classrooms amid the Delta variant and fights over mask mandates, vaccines and school bus shortages. Reville is the former Massachusetts secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also heads the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.” Then, we continue our conversation with listeners about going back to school during the pandemic. Jon Gruber talks about the connection between a lack of abortion rights and worse lifetime outcomes, in the wake of the new Texas law. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream." In light of Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung's recent piece about the plight of hotel workers, we open phone lines to ask listeners their thoughts on hotel companies recommending guests forgo daily room cleanings at the expense of staff.